STAYING POWER

Cairney: Style means nothing if you lose at Wembley..at least it should mean that this young team won’t be ripped apart

THERE hasn’t been as much excitement among Fulham folk since they unveiled a statue of that well-known footballer, Michael Jackson, at Craven Cottage.

But as the most stylish team in the Championship held on to claim the £170million golden ticket to the Premier League, skipper Tom Cairney admitted his winner had probably saved Slavisa Jokanovic’s young hipsters from breaking up.

West Ham can forget about signing Cairney, Tottenham can forget about poaching boy wonder Ryan Sessegnon (inset) and clubs in the market for a new coach can forget about Jokanovic for now.

While Prince William watched his beloved Villa come up short, Fulham royalty and England legend George Cohen had one of his best days out at Wembley since 1966. They were fortunate Ryan Fredericks’ first-half stamp on Jack Grealish slipped under referee Anthony Taylor’s radar, and they had to play the last 25 minutes with 10 men after Denis

Odoi’s red card.

Cairney said:

“Honestly, we had to get promoted this time – we had to – and you could see the relief in our celebrations. This will keep the team together.

“Now we’re in the Premier League, based in London, it’s an attractive club.

“We had to be streetwise, because we were playing against an experienced team who were bigger and more physical than us, but no one remembers nice football, or says, ‘Oh yes, they were good’ if you don’t go up.

“No one cares about style, Wembley only remembers winners.”

For on-loan Aleksandar Mitrovic, whose 12 goals had catapulted Fulham to the brink of automatic promotion, surely it is now a matter of when, not if, his switch from Newcastle becomes permanent.

He said: “It’s like a dream. “Slavisa Jokanovic hasn’t just got the best out of me – he gets the best out of every player. You can see we look really comfortable on the ball.”

Heartbroken Steve Bruce was left to survey the desolation in Villa’s dressing room and told his players: “Remember how it feels to lose on the big occasion.”

As Villa face the prospect of swingeing cuts and selling players to absorb the financial reality of a third season in the Championship, manager Bruce cut the saddest figure of all at Wembley.

Only the stoniest heart could not share the pain of a decent man who somehow kept going despite losing both his parents in the space of three months. To lead Villa so close to promotion, amid overwhelming personal grief, was a superhuman effort. They came within a whisker of forcing extra time, too, after Grealish was denied a last-gasp penalty under Matt Targett’s untidy escort.

But Fulham hung on, so after a triumph of style over substance, a talented band will now stay together. And it’s not the Jackson Five. ANDRE GRAY is on his way out of

Watford, with Premier League new boys Cardiff considering a move for him.

City boss Neil Warnock wants a striker and believes he can get the best out of the Hornets’ £18.5million record signing.

Gray scored just five goals since joining from Burnley last summer and although Vicarage Road manager Javi Gracia would rather sell, the promoted Bluebirds are willing to pay a substantial loan fee to get their man for next season.

West Brom’s Salomon Rondon is another target, but the Venezuelan’s wage demands could prove a stumbling block for the Welsh club.

FRENCH midfielder Yohan Cabaye could be tempted by Marseille after Crystal Palace slashed his wages. The 32-year-old (left) can stay at Palace on £45,000 a week – down from £75,000 – so he is now considering a move to the Ligue 1 club.